For nearly three hours Monday morning, Floreano Lopes’ widow, children, siblings and friends fondly remembered the 42-year-old construction worker who was shot at his job site nearly two-and-a-half years ago. Floreano’s loved ones also urged the judge to deliver a stiff period of parole ineligibility for his killer.
Tania Lopes, Floreano’s widow, told the court that Jonathon Kozuch stole the life of her late husband, who was father to their three children.
“I continuously wake up hoping this tragedy was a bad dream, not wanting to accept we have lost him forever,” she told Justice Michael Quigley.
A pre-taped video of Floreano’s 12-year-old son Ethan was played in the courtroom, while the young boy watched from the gallery. “I was excited for my 10th birthday because my dad promised to take me on a motorcycle but that got ruined by Jonathon. Now I have to live without my dad for the rest of my life,” Ethan said.
It was Sept. 3, 2021, at around 1:30 p.m. when a stolen black pick-up truck crashed into the construction site where Floreano was working on Steeles Avenue West at Alness Road, striking a worker who suffered a broken collar bone.
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The jury heard Kozuch was high on drugs at the time and tried to steal a cube van from the construction site before Floreano intervened.
Floreano and some of his co-workers got into a fight with Kozuch in an effort to stop him from fleeing. It was then that Kozuch fired two shots from a handgun. One bullet struck Kozuch’s finger before ricocheting into Floreano in the calf.
Floreano was rushed to hospital and later died.
Kozuch was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, theft over $5,000 and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. When the trial began, he pleaded guilty to the latter two charges. The jury found Kozuch guilty of second-degree murder in early November after nearly two days of deliberations.
Second-degree murder is an automatic life sentence. Justice Quigley must now decide an appropriate period of parole ineligibility, between 10 and 25 years.
Crown prosecutor Barry Stagg said 15 years would be appropriate given he developed a plan that day, the jury seeing video of how he tried to escape after crashing the stolen SUV. “Part of that plan was to take his firearm and magazines with him, onto the construction leading to the murder of Mr. Lopes.”
Stagg suggested two-year sentences for both the theft and dangerous driving convictions to be served concurrently with the life sentence.
Stagg told the court that Kozuch, 39, has prior convictions for auto theft and possession of stolen property but no priors involving violence or firearms.
Defence lawyer Ari Goldkind suggested 10 to 12 years parole ineligibility would be more appropriate saying it was out of character for Kozuch, calling it an “extremely tragic set of circumstances”. Goldkind pointed out that even Floreano’s family said in victim impact statements they were shocked when they learned he died from a gunshot wound to his leg.
Floreano’s eldest daughter Emily said she will never forgive Kozuch. “It is because of (his) reckless actions that our streets are unsafe with gun violence. He ripped apart a happy family and left us with anger, grief and sadness.”
Justice Quigley has reserved his decision on sentencing until Feb. 15.
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